Okay so I am busy trying to make a disk slip or something by stripping my 10’ wall section between the tool stacker, and the clamp rack completely down to the sheet rock. Now this is no small task. Everything small enough was stuffed in to four clearance priced totes from Walmart $3.00 each, and I will re-use them for holding project components when I have to make smallish production runs of parts..

It’s the bigger stuff that is causing the problem. Moving the lathe out of the way, sort of, and it’s the sort of that isn’t helping matters at all. It needs to be toward the front of the shop, but no it is now sort of slid up against the work bench. The sheet goods are just sort of leaning there, and the shelf and closet brackets are sitting on top of the totes, that are now on the table saw and work bench. Ugh!

Well, to make my way to this wall, I had to move out a BUNCH of stuff. Among the moved items were…

2 power drills in cases, B&D rotary tool in case, Dremel accessory box, Rockler blade cleaning kit, gallon of blade & bit cleaner, large selection of sandpaper, jig saw and blades in case, circular saw, guide, blades and wrenches in case, Arrow electric brad nailer in case, biscuit joiner in case, 6” buffer in case, small box of dust collection parts, small assortment of templates, three, thirty nine drawer bins (the cheapie plastic jobs from Home Depot) full of misc hardware, a ton of measuring and marking tools, a few misc router accessories, and my fire extinguisher (which will get mounted closer to the back wall by the workbench), and a pair of folding extending sawhorses.

Now with the wall segment clear, and all of the sheet rock anchors removed, I am leaving the holes for now, remember that this sheet rock is scheduled to be ripped down, insulation put in, and fresh sheet rock put up…, anyway, with the wall segment clear, and the stud locations marked. I am ready to get in ASAP and mount up the wall standards. These are the Closetmaid heavy duty standards that I got at Lowes on clearance. They were a heck of a bargain when I got them. 6’ standards for something like $1.25 each if I recall correctly…

Once the standards are in as they should be, the sheet goods go back to where they were, the brackets go into position, and the long stock gets put up. The lathe goes back (temporarily, and then I figure out just WHAT I am going to do with the handheld tools and such. My plan was to build on to my wall workbench where the peg board is, by adding upright supports, and then adding a shelf to the back of that bench, and directly attaching the peg board. This will kill some of the upper peg board access, but I can live with that for now… I will be adding peg board later on anyway…

All in all a good day, and good progress being made, especially considering the other stuff I had to do before hand… So even though it looks like my shop was hit by a tornado, it wasn’t… Lord willing this will all be done before my descendants need to use my shop to build my coffin…

11 comments so far

I know what you must be going through. A while back I had to move my old work benches out and my new ones in; however, to do that was no easy task. I had to move all sorts of things. I ended up moving a lot of stuff outside and hoped that it wouldn’t rain. Fortunately it didn’t rain and the shop was better than before. You’ll get it back in shape and it will be better than before. A shop will always be a work in process. Good luck.

-- If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. Henry David Thoreau

That’s part of the problem. The tropics are nice and busy, dumping all sorts of extra rain on us now… My week is pretty much shot…

I do have some back trouble, which was caused by a car wreck 10 years ago, it usually doesn’t bug me, but these last 2 weeks I could really use a hot tub, and a deep tissue massage… All this moving of stuff isn’t helping matters at all..

I’m sorry. I had a ruptured disc about 30 years ago but it still acts up so I have to watch it like a hawk to prevent it from going out on me. I hope you get through it without hurting your back. That’s the last thing you would need. Good luck.

-- If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. Henry David Thoreau

You definitely have to be cautious with your back. I had a slipped disk in the past and I definitely can say that it was as painful as a futhermucker. I am now very cautious when doing any heavy lifting. Be careful.

Absolutely, My issues are muscular in nature. The docs have told me that everything is fine, but I can tell you, it’s not. Long story short, I was stopped on the freeway due to a wreck right in front of me, the old full size Pontiac full of “undocumented workers” didn’t bother noticing, and ran smooth up into my truck at 70 MPH. (85 Pontiac Parisienne vs. 2000 Ford Ranger).

Now I am a big guy, and have been since the late 90’s (I put a ton of weight on during my first marriage due to depression issues…). So at 325 lbs, and a 70 MPH rear ender, I managed to break the seat back on my truck, and crush the rear wall of the cab, and the front wall of the bed, I was looking at sky when pieces stopped flying…

Now to avoid being taken to Ben Taub hospital in Houston where you only seem to get seen on an emergency basis if you have been stabbed or shot, I insisted on a rental car, and a trip to Clear Lake Regional, an hour away… I had torn muscles, and glass in my head. Now my head doesn’t bother me, but every now and then, the muscles that had been injured, well just hurt like hades… Especially if I overdo it physically. This is partially the fault of the wreck, and partially the fault of my fat a**...I have lost a considerable amount of weight since then…

It sounds as if you were sittin and thinkin again in the shop. LOL I know cause I have the same problem. What seems like a fairly simple task generally makes me ask myself, What was I thinking in the first place. The rewards afterward far out weigh the headache, backache, legs getting sore and stiff and all the other pains and interruptions of doing what was once thought just a simple task. Take lots of breaks it will still be there later at least thats my way of thinking.

AAAH, the move mess from THIS SIDE of the shop, to THAT SIDE of the shop – inspiring at first, depressing while at it. lol. good thing is – although it may not seem like it- you are setting up a base to build on, so now that things will be put back into place, things will be more accessible, and much easier to work with. just takes time sometimes, and doesn’t always seem like it’s getting along while at it – although it most certainly is.

My problem is my shop sort of grew organically, until it became a disaster. I have been making several attempts at organizing the disaster, but it was obvious my initial attempts at organization were utter, and complete failures… So over time, I developed an organization plan in Sketchup, tweaked it, and twisted it around, until I found a setup that works for me and my tasks. Now I am busy shoving things around in a way too crowded shop, trying to make it at least LOOK like I know what I am doing. The next stages AFTER getting the layout down, is of course… Ripping it all down to insulate and electrify… Then putting it all back up again… I think I need a beer or two in the process just to replace the fluids lost with all the sweat you know?

Last time I did any heavy organization was when I put in the DC, hose, and hardware, but my shop was in its basic organization it is in now. Although running 220V everywhere was kind of a pain also. Today I am working on a wierd gizmo to further improve my DC at the tool, especially freehand routing, drilling, sanding, etc of larger items. Smaller ones can go on my downdraft table. Hopefully I will make some headway or finish this item today. It is not difficult construction.

I do a lot of pacing when I work, stopping for a break, answering email, etc. I did things nonstop when I was young and full of energy. I am no longer young and I am a little short on energy.

But sounds like progress there, it also sounds like maybe some overdue organization? When I organize, it is always long long overdue…........(-:

Not overdue, right on time… The problem is I have to get disorganized to get organized if that makes sense…

I have the lumber rack up, and very solid. I am looking forward to loading it up so I can clear the junk off my floor, and move on to hanging shelves on the other side of the shop… I have overdone it badly two weekends in a row however, and LOML has errands that she wants me to run tomorrow…. and Sunday isn’t going to happen. My Air filter should arrive Monday, from the looks of things, it will have to wait in the corner for a couple of days until I get things cleared enough to put it up….

You do sound pretty resolute and intense. I am the quintessential procrastinatorator. My motto….....why do it today if it can be put off till tomorrow?

Actually my problem is being OCD. I had to learn to procrastinate and put things off, because I was killing myself. So about 15 to 20 years ago, I convinced myself to quit being so intense. I probably added 10 years to my life doing that. And I bought a different house, partly to gain the dedicated shop area. All that helped the organization thing a lot.